It Never Rains on Cybertron
by Ragnarok347
Summary: OC's. Downshift is an Autobot, knocked off course for the Island of Diego Garcia by a Meteorite. When he meets a human by the name of Malcolm Banes, a chance thunderstorm gives the human a little insight into the Autobot's processors. Oneshot for now.


**Author's Note: **

**Hiya! Raggy here. This story is about an Autobot named Downshift, who actually does exist in the Transformers universe, but he's a minor player at best, and I liked the name too much to not use it. So, forgive any liberties I might take. Malcolm Banes is an OC, and, if I decide to continue this, the two of them are going to feature very prominently into my interpretation of the world. Please RxR, I'd like to see if anyone's interested. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: No owning of the Transformers, but I do own this particular incarnation of Downshift and Malcolm Banes. Wish I did own the rest, though.  
**

_It Never Rains on Cybertron_

_Slag...Where am I..._

The glinting metal of the massive protoform began to shift, gears whirring as panels shifted and locked into place. A distinctive whine filled the air as the metal giant unfurled, arms and legs coming out to push the cybertronian upright, optics flaring with bright blue fire as it finished coming online.

Initial testing revealed its long-range communicators were damaged in the descent, along with few cracked plates and some fused wiring. Nothing to serious, but there was no chance it was going to be able to contact Optimus or any of the other Autobots it'd come here for.

"**Slag."**

Pushing itself out of the flaming crater it had made, a quick sweep of its optics revealed it to be in a field near some manner of primitive roadway.

For lack of any other options, it decided to try its communicators anyway.

"**Autobot Downshift hailing Optimus Prime..."**

A quick burst of static was all it got for its troubles.

Shaking "his" head, Downshift pulled up the last known coordinates he'd received from Optimus and the other Autobots. Diego Garcia, island located in the Indian Ocean. He was way off-course. That meteorite hit him harder than he thought.

Vapor expelled from his vents in the cybertronian equivalent of a sigh, and he resigned himself to the long trip. Maybe he'd get close enough that his short range comms would work. Problem, however, was how was he going to get close enough without being turned into slag if he couldn't transmit his Autobot frequencies?

First things first. He had to find a suitable alt-form and get on the way. Optimus and the others were expecting him.

Lights coming from the roadway forced Downshift's attention back to the matter at hand. Attempting to conceal himself next to...He did a quick scan through Earth's World Wide Web and downloaded any information he could find on Earth, its languages, and its organisms, and found it to be called a "tree". It seemed to work, because the "car" drove by him without so much as slowing down.

It was not a vehicle Downshift wanted for an alt form. Old, rusted, and very unpleasant to the optics. It was why he'd never have made a good spy like his friend Punch; He liked shiny, flashy alt forms, something Punch never bothered himself with.

Another set of lights drew his attention, and this time, his patience was rewarded.

It was a deep, matte-black, with what seemed to be purplish highlights inlaid in the paint. Downshift loved it, and that was just the color. Doing another scan, he cross-referenced it with the new information in his database, and found it be a "1967 Chevrolet Impala."

In his fervor to scan the vehicle and the alt-form finished downloading, his armor plating shifted to the human disguise, his optics came back online just in time to feel the tree he was hiding next to break. The over-stressed ground couldn't take any more punishment, and with a groan, the tree began to fall, roots no longer finding a stable resting place in the torn ground...Coming to rest with a resounding crash straight in the middle of the freeway.

_Slag!_

While every piece of military training he had was telling him to just let what was about to happen happen, the Autobot nature in him won. Optimus was always preaching about the conservation of life, and Downshift knew he'd never be able to recharge peacefully ever again if he didn't do something to help the human.

As the human hit the brakes to try and avoid hitting the tree that magically appeared in the middle of the road, Downshift transformed and took off running. Transformation only half-complete, he slammed into the side of the beautiful car and knocked it off-course, the vehicle missing the end of the tree by inches and coming to rest on the other side of the road with a bump.

Expelling his vents again, Downshift cursed himself for being so foolish. He'd let his vanity get the best of him again, and now this civilian human had seen too much. Removing the tree from the roadway, Downshift completed his transformation and walked over to the human vehicle, programs already being pulled up on the languages spoken in this part of the world.

"Human, do you require medical attention?"

The human inside was white, paler than even the images Downshift had downloaded showed. He guessed that the human was experiencing the emotion of "fear".

"Nah...I think I'm alright. My car's a little banged up though...No thanks to you! Hehehe..." The human replied. The voice sounded strange in Downshift's audio receptors. He concluded the human was trying to alleviate his fear with humor, and deduced the correct response would be to laugh as well.

A deep, booming rumble, vaguely akin to thunder, poured forth from the huge robot that just smashed up his car.

Malcolm Banes correctly assumed this was hands-down the weirdest moment of his life. However, he also recognized that the giant robot had not only saved him from killing himself by hitting a tree going astonishingly too fast, but also asked if he required medical attention, in a strange, deep, electronic voice that sounded not unlike Barry White's put through a synthesizer.

Swallowing hard, Malcolm got out of his car, his pride and joy, the car he spent years of his life saving for to survey the damage. It was beat up, alright. The entire right side was crushed where the robot had hit him, the front tire smashed into the engine, and dark fluid leaking from under the chassis. He groaned. This was going to take weeks to fix, as well as a ton of money he was sure his insurance wouldn't pay for.

Suddenly remembering he should be paying attention to the reality-shattering giant robot standing next to him, Malcolm looked up to see the robot standing with his arms at his sides, almost like...He was trying to prove something.

"So...Uhh...You're..."

Expelling from his vents yet again, Downshift looked down at the human. True, the human seemed to be handling this better than his processors expected, but this still going to be tedious.

"An Autonomous Robotic Organism from the planet Cybertron. Autobot, for short." Recycling the line Ratchet had given him in his last transmission.

"Autobot. So...You're an alien robot from another planet, and you also speak English and saved my life. I guess I owe you a thank you."

The massive robot _snorted_ and said, "No thank you is necessary. In actuality, it is I who owe you..." He stopped for a moment. "An _apology._ It is my error the tree fell to begin with."

Malcolm gaped. Not only was there an alien robot in front of him, but now it was _sorry _ for banging up his car?

"Umm...No worries I guess. You're a little far up for a handshake, but my name's Malcolm. Malcolm Banes."

The robot looked almost thoughtful for a moment, then replied, "The closest I can come to my name in your language would be...Downshift."

The human known as Malcolm Banes started to laugh again. "Downshift? Really? That's awesome!"

Downshift dimmed his optics. "Explain..._Awesome._"

"Uhh...Awesome? Awesome is...Well, good, basically. Something's good."

Downshift's optics flared back up. "My processor agrees. Awesome is good." Satisfied the human was unhurt, Downshift turned to leave. "I'm sorry, Malcolm Banes, but I cannot stay any longer. I was knocked off course during my fall into your planet's atmosphere and my comrades are waiting for me, and my communication systems are currently offline."

Malcolm's face grew serious. "Comrades? There are more of you? More importantly, why are you all here?"

Downshift thought for a moment, then replied, "We are locked in an interstellar war with our mortal enemies, the Decepticons. Their leader, Megatron, followed the All Spark here, which is the only thing that can bring life to our race. We-The Autobots-Are here, hiding among you, in order to protect you from them. _In secret._" The emphasis on the last words was not subtle: Downshift had broken more than one decree simply telling him this, but the situation seemed unavoidable to ensure his silence.

Malcolm nodded, as though all of this was perfectly normal to him. "So you need to link up with your comrades and help stop these Decepticons?"

"Yes."

"Let me help."

Downshift's logic center almost overloaded. A human, brought into this by complete chance, garnered information less than ten earth minutes ago that there was life on other planets, found out that an alien war was taking place on his planet, and wanted to _help?_

"Impossible. I cannot allow a civilian to get involved."

Malcolm was adamant. "If your war is taking place on _our_ planet, I can't say for certain that anyone is technically considered a civilian anymore." He went on, "But I believe you, impossible as all this is to believe. You're going to need help, because wherever you're going, there's no way you're going to blend into human society as a talking robot..." He trailed off as Downshift transformed, his alt mode appearing as a flawless replica of his prized car. "Okay, I admit, that helps, but you're still going to need some assistance. I'm assuming where you're going isn't right around the corner?"

"Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean."

"Yeah. There are going to be military checkpoints and international travel. On top of that, you sound like a textbook. You're going to need some help on that."

Just as Downshift was preparing to argue, the sky split and a peal of thunder rolled across the highway, just before rain began pouring from the sky, large droplets pelting Malcolm and Downshift. Malcolm was soaked in no time.

"Well, this sucks..." Malcolm stated, staring at his ruined clothes. "I don't suppose I could get a-" He stopped. Downshift had transformed again, and was staring at the sky, hands held out, almost as if in wonder.

"What? You've never seen rain before? It happens all the time here."

Downshift looked down at him, optics blazing blue fire as a smile, a genuine smile, creased his mouthplates. This was..._Awesome._ The water from the sky filled his spark with wonderment. What else was this planet capable of? Is this why Optimus wanted to make this their new home? If it was...It couldn't be so bad. A little organic for his tastes, but he could deal with it.

"No."

He looked up to the sky again.

"It never rains on Cybertron..."


End file.
